Many of our “green” efforts got at least some of their funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The Service received $280 million in ARRA funds, and improving energy efficiency was an important goal behind some of the projects we funded.

During a tough economy, we put people back to work and supported conservation and sustainability. I am proud of that.

Our plan is to become carbon neutral by 2020. And to achieve that, our people are engaging in some truly innovative “green” work. The Department of the Interior’s 2012 Environmental Achievement Awards recognize a number of those projects: